Matrilineality

Matrilineality is a system in which lineage is traced through the mother and maternal ancestors. In this article matrilineality also is a societal system in which one belongs to one's matriline or mother's lineage, which can involve the matrilineal inheritance of property and/or titles. A matriline is literally a mother line; one's matriline is one's mother and her mother and her mother and... ad infinitum, one's nearly infinite line of mothers, and is thus a line of descent for one. One's matriline is one's purely female ancestry. Matrilineal is simply the adjective form of the noun matriline. The corresponding adjective form, mother-line, is easier to use, with only three syllables. Mother-line and matrilineal will be used interchangeably, and similarly father-line and patrilineal . A matriline, defined above, also may be given a restricted definition closer to Webster's as follows: A matriline is a line of descent from a female ancestor to a descendant (of either sex ) in which the individuals in all intervening generations are mothers. In a matrilineal descent system an individual is considered to belong to the same descent group as her or his mother. This matrilineal descent is in contrast to the more common modern pattern of patrilineal descent which underlies the whole Family name article, for example. The matriline of historical nobility was also called her or his enatic or uterine ancestry, to match the patrilineal agnatic ancestry treated in depth in the article Patrilineality . In some cultures , membership in their groups is inherited matrilineally; examples of this cultural practice include many ancient cultures and continues in the contemporary cultures of those ancient origins such as Huron , Cherokee , Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee), Hopi , Navajo , and Gitksan of North America . In the Old World cultures it is found in Ancient Egypt , the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra , ( Indonesia ); some Ezhavas , Nairs including Royal clans, and Kurichiyas of Kerala , India ; Bunts , Billavas and Mogaveeras of Karnataka , Pillai caste in Nagercoil District of Tamil Nadu ; the Khasi , Jaintia and Garo of Meghalaya , India ; the Nakhi of China , the Basque people , the Akan , and the Tuaregs .

Matrilineality is also a societal system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance of property and/or titles. A matriline is a line of descent from a female ancestor to a descendant (of either sex ) in which the individuals in all intervening generations are mothers – in other words, a "mother line". In a matrilineal descent system , an individual is considered to belong to the same descent group as her or his mother. This matrilineal descent pattern is in contrast to the more common pattern of patrilineal descent from which a family name is usually derived. The matriline of historical nobility was also called her or his enatic or uterine ancestry (corresponding to the patrilineal "agnatic" ancestry). In some ancient societies and cultures, membership in their groups was – and, in the following list, still is if shown in italics – inherited matrilineally. Examples include the Cherokee , Choctaw , Gitksan , Haida , Hopi , Iroquois , Lenape , Navajo and Tlingit of North America ; the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra , Indonesia and Negeri Sembilan , Malaysia ; the Nairs of Kerala and the Bunts and Billava of Karnataka in south India ; the Khasi , Jaintia and Garo of Meghalaya in northeast India; Muslims and the Tamils in eastern Sri Lanka ; the Mosuo of China ; the Basques of Spain and France ; the Akan including the Ashanti of west Africa ; the Tuaregs of west and north Africa; the Kuna people of Panama; the Serer of Senegal , the Gambia and Mauritania ; and most Jewish communities.

Schneider Heinrich Schurtz Marilyn Strathern Related articles Alliance theory Matrilineal / matrilocal societies Feminist anthropology Sex and Repression in Savage Society Social Bonding and Nurture Kinship "The Traffic in Women" Social anthropology Cultural anthropology v t e Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance of property and/or titles. A matriline is a line of descent from a female ancestor to a descendant (of either sex ) in which the individuals in all intervening generations are mothers – in other words, a "mother line". In a matrilineal descent system , an individual is considered to belong to the same descent group as their mother. This matrilineal descent pattern is in contrast to the more common pattern of patrilineal descent from which a family name is usually derived. The matriline of historical nobility was also called their enatic or uterine ancestry, corresponding to the patrilineal or "agnatic" ancestry. In some traditional societies and cultures, membership in their groups was – and, in the following list, still is if shown in italics – inherited matrilineally. Examples include the Cherokee , Choctaw , Sicewa , Seneca , Minotoan Gitksan , Haida , Hopi , Iroquois , Lenape , Navajo and Tlingit of North America ; the Kuna people of Panama; the Kogi and Carib of South America; the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra , Indonesia and Negeri Sembilan , Malaysia ; the Trobrianders , Dobu and Nagovisi of Melanesia; the Nairs of Kerala and the Bunts of Karnataka in south India ; the Khasi , Jaintia and Garo of Meghalaya in northeast India; the Ngalops and Sharchops of Bhutan ; Muslims and the Tamils in eastern Sri Lanka ; the Mosuo of China ; the Kayah of Southeast Asia, the Picti of Scotland , the Basques of Spain and France ; the Ainu of Japan , the Akan including the Ashanti of Ghana ; most groups across the so-called " matrilineal belt " of south-central Africa; the Tuareg of west and north Africa; the Serer of Senegal , The Gambia and Mauritania .

Schneider Heinrich Schurtz Marilyn Strathern Related articles Alliance theory Matrilineal / matrilocal societies Feminist anthropology Sex and Repression in Savage Society Social Bonding and Nurture Kinship "The Traffic in Women" Social anthropology Cultural anthropology v t e Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline, their mother's lineage , and which can involve the inheritance of property and titles. A matriline is a line of descent from a female ancestor to a descendant of either gender in which the individuals in all intervening generations are mothers. In a matrilineal descent system , an individual is considered to belong to the same descent group as their mother. This ancient matrilineal descent pattern is in contrast to the currently more popular pattern of patrilineal descent from which a family name is usually derived. The matriline of historical nobility was also called their enatic or uterine ancestry, corresponding to the patrilineal or "agnatic" ancestry.

Schneider Heinrich Schurtz Marilyn Strathern Related articles Alliance theory Matrilineal / matrilocal societies Feminist anthropology Sex and Repression in Savage Society Social Bonding and Nurture Kinship "The Traffic in Women" Social anthropology Cultural anthropology v t e Matrilineality , at times called matriliny , is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's lineage , and which can involve the inheritance of property and titles. A matriline is a line of descent from a female ancestor to a descendant of either gender in which the individuals in all intervening generations are mothers. In a matrilineal descent system , individuals belong to the same descent group as their mothers. This is in contrast to the currently more popular pattern of patrilineal descent from which a family name is usually derived. The matriline of historical nobility was also called their enatic or uterine ancestry, corresponding to the patrilineal or "agnatic" ancestry.